Lfinne

This past weekend delegates at the Washington state PTA Legislative Assembly meeting at the SeaTac Marriott voted to recommend that Olympia lift Washington state's ban on charter public schools.  Here is the language they approved:

The Washington State PTA shall initiate and/or support legislation or policies that drive innovation and accountability in public edcuation by allowing the operation of public charter schools in the state of Washington.

Earlier this year, leaders at the statewide teacher union, the WEA, developed a plan to go on strike in local districts that didn’t agree to union demands.  In passing New Business Item #6 at their May 12th meeting, union executives outlined a plan for closing schools on days that create maximum disruption for families and children.

The purpose was to show union power – pick a school district and make an example of it.

Teacher strikes are illegal.  The Attorney General’s office says:

"In Washington, state and local public employees do not have a legally protected right to strike.  No such right existed at common law, and none has been granted by statute.” http://www.atg.wa.gov/AGOOpinions/Opinion.aspx?section=archive&id=5736

Writers of the new Common Core standards are explaining to teachers they will have to change the questions they ask their students in order to comply with these new standards.  Only questions that keep the discussion on the text, say about the Gettysburg Address, are to be asked.  Teachers must not accept students’ responses based on their backgrounds and experiences, as this will allow the discussion to veer away from the text.  See “Standards writers wade into curriculum,” Education W

Background: Arne Duncan is using Congress' failure to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to offer states waivers from NCLB in order to impose his Race to the Top vision upon states, including Washington. 

Yesterday we published this four-page Policy Note:  Union Dues Divert Education Funds from Schools. Here are a few excerpts:

Key Findings

On Monday, I wrote a blog post criticizing the Seattle School  District for calling their budget increase a cut, teasing the district that an increase is not a cut.  Yesterday, the seattlepi.com reported that the Seattle School District officials now admit their new 2011-12 budget of $577 million is